Heel-making machine



R. C. SIMMONS.

HEEL MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION man FEB.28, 191s.

, Patented Feb. 21, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Q i m HIE Wvzgymw I R. C. SIMMONS.

HEEL MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED rmzs. 191s Patented Feb. 21, 1922.

8 4 $HEET$SHEET 2.

Patented Feb. 21,- 1922.

4 SHEET$ SHEET 3.

l I 1 1 l I l I I 1 I I l llwll L11 R. c. SIMMONS. HEELMAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED FE'B.28, i918 R. C. SIMMONS.

HEEL MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION men FEB. 28, ms. 1,407,337. Patented Feb. 21, 1922..

4 SHEETSSHEET 4.

' WVf/V 727/7 ATENT' O F RALPH o. SIMMONS, 013 BEVERLY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO umrnn SHOE MACHINERY CORPORATION, or PA'IERSON, NEW JERSEY, A conronArroiv on,

NEW JERSEY.

HEEL-MAKING MACHINE.

menses.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed February 28, 1918. Serial No. 219,593.-

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, RALPH C. SIMMONS, a citizen of the United States, residing at deverly, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in Heel-Making Machines, of which the following description, in connec-' tion with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like reference characters on the drawings indicating like parts in the several figures.

This invention relates to heel making machines, and more particularly to that class of machines which are adapted to form a heel, or part of a'heel, from a series of lifts died out of leather, leatherboard, or equivalent sheet material.

The common practice in the past, has been to deposit supplies of such lifts, in disorder, in conveniently arranged bins or boxes from which a sufiicient number of lifts was manually removed by an operator, who assembled them in proper order in a heel shaped cup or form, in a machine which was constructed to drive one or more nails through the lifts to secure them together in the shape of a heel. If desired, the operator also pasted the lifts by hand as she assembled them. The machine required for this operation is simple and its cost is low but, inasmuch as the element of hand labor enters so largely into its use, the amount of work produced by an operator in a day is quite limited and, with increasing wages, the labor cost has come to be a serious item in the manufacture of'heels.

More recently, automatic heel building machinery has been developed, which tremendously increases the speed of production, but this machinery is, ofnecessity, so complicated in construction, delicate in operation, and expensive to build that it is most economical for use in large factories where considerable quantities of heels of one size and style are built at one time.

The object of the present invention is to provide a machine for use in the manufacture of heels which shall make possiblea large increase in the amount of work pro duced by an operator, with a consequent saving in labor cost and yet be so simple as not to require the exercise of skill beyond that of the ordinary help employed inheel building, and which canbeconstructed at acost low enough to make it practical and economical for use in any heel factory.

With this object inview, an important feature of the invention consists in a simplified and improved lift assembling mechamsm comprising a support upon which. a row of lifts may be deposited,'in combination with'means for taking the lifts and de Patented Feb. 21', 1922; i Z

support in succession upon the receiver,

where they pile up to form the heel. In: this connectlon, a further feature of the invention resides in. an improved lift. advanc ing and collecting device capableof acconnv plishing the functions just described; In one form, this device may consist of an-actuator havlng'a series of depending fingers spaced apart bydistances at least equal to the widths or lengths of the lifts. and,'in the specific embodiment herein, shown; and described, inclined relatively to the lift support in a direction to cause the lifts to be pressed downwardly as they are advanced, along the support The path of movement of the fingers extends to the end ofthe-sup' port, for the purpose of" permittingthelifts arranged between the fingers to be ad?- vanced simultaneously along the supportand dropped off, one upon-another, thus-being collected in ah'eel pile. described may advantageously be combined with a series of magazines for-containing-the lifts in orderly, stacked arrangement, ,pro';

vided with automatic or other means-for removing from the magazines a; series of lifts sufficient for a heel and depositing. them.

upon the support between the fingers of the lift advancing and collecting'device.

Although the practice is by no means uni- The features alreadyversal, it is customary to paste the lifts of a.

heel as they are assembled, and another-feature of the inventloncomprlses a novel arrangement of' liftpasting means in itsucooperative relation to the lift collecting mechanism. I have so located a paste applying device, such, for example, as a paste roll, that the lifts of a heel pass it in rapid succession immediately prior to their assemblage into a heel pile. With this construction and mode of operation the assembling of the lifts follows so nearly instantaneously upon the application of the paste that it becomes possible to use an excessively quick drying paste with no risk of it setting or losing. its adhesive quality before the lifts are brought together. There is the additional important advantage, that a very short paste roll may be employed, since it applies pasteto but one lift at a time, with a consequent saving in space and cost. The pasting mechanism,-being small and compact, is also easily and quickly cleaned.

Still another feature of the invention consists in the combination with a heelbuilding machine of the typein which the lifts are usually assembled by hand of mechanism whereby the operator may, by a single motion of the hand, collect and deposit in position to be secured together the series of lifts necessary to form a:heel pile. Such mechanism may .conveniently comprise a lift" advancing and collecting device of the type. hereinbef'ore referred to, arranged for manual operation and located to deliver the lifts successively to the heel building machine, depositing them one upon another in the receptacle or form in which they are alined andheld'in position to be secured together. In a suitable practical construction,

the lift advancing and collecting device,

comprising an-actuator having a series of depending, lift engaging fingers, is arranged to be moved directly across the form,the lifts droppingsuccessively into the form as they come into register therewith.

' In another aspect of the invention, the combination, with a heel building machine having means for securing a pile ofliftstogether, of means, controlled or' operated by the securing means, for producing, in or derly arrangement, a series of lifts for the next heel, is contemplated. In the specific embodiment of the invention herein shown and desc'ribeddthelifts are contained in a series of magazines, from which they are produced in a row by means ofa pusher element operated by, or controlled from,

the driving shaft which operates the lift securing instrumentalities. The arrangement is such that each time the operator causes the machine to operate to-secure together the lifts of a heel a new series of lifts is produced from the magazines and deposited in a row, ready to be collected to form the next heel.

vention. While, in the specific embodiment herein described and illustrated, certain mechanisms are manually operated, it

should be understood that many features of the invention are equally well adapted for advantageous use in a heel making machine which is completely automatic in its operation.

V The terms heel and heel pile are used interchangeably throughout the specification and claims to denote a pile of lifts assembled in proper relation to form either a complete heel or a multi-lift section or deck suitable for assembly with other lifts to form a complete heel.

Referring now to the drawings,

Figure 1 is a view in front elevation of the lift collecting mechanism in co-operative relation to the upper portion of a heel building machine; v

Fig. 2 is a plan view of .the mechanism shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view of the machinein end elevation, showing certain elements in cross section; and r I Fig. i is a side view partly in elevation and partly in section of the heel building machine, showing certain modifications which have been made in it.

In the drawings, 10 indicates the head and 12 the nailing die of a known type of heel building machine, such for example, as the one disclosed in United States Patent No. 1,056,720, March 18, 1913, Tripp, to which reference may be had for a full and complete disclosure of the details of construction and operation of such a machine. The

head 10 is supported upon the upper end of a swinging arm 14 and carries a presser foot 16 which, in the operation of the machine,

is brought down firmly upon the heel to press and hold the lifts closely together or form appropriately shaped to receive and V aline the lifts which are to constitute the heel pile. This form consists of a front sta-' tionary jaw 20 and a rear slidable' jaw 22, mounted for movement toward and from the stationary aw 20. The j aw 22 is connected by a pin 2st to a sliding rod 26 guided for movement forwardly and rearwardly of the form by passing through a hole in the rear frame portion 28. The rearward limit'of movement of the sliding jaw is adjustably controlled by a nut 30 threaded upon the rod 26 and positioned to engage the frame sec 7 tion 28 when the mold is open to the fullest extent desired.

A compression spring 32 surrounds the rear end of the rod 26 and is held inplace thereon by nuts 34. The end of the spring 32 bears against the rear face of the'frame 28, tending to' draw the rod 26 rearwardly to open the form. This is permitted, and the form is opened to its full extent to receive the lifts for forming a heel pile, when the arm 14 is swung rearwardly, occupying the position indicated by the dotted lines in Figure 4. At this time, the driving shaft 36 and operating mechanism of the heel building machine are at rest.

A cross bar'38 is adjustably secured by nuts 40, 42, to the rod 26. The ends of this cross bar are in position-to be engaged by the front face of the arm 14 when the latter is swung forwardly to position the presser foot 16 over the heel and to start the power operated mechanism of the machine. The cross bar 38 is adjusted to such a position upon the rod 26 that, when the presser foot 16 is in operative position over the heel, the jaw 22 has been closed upon the heel pile to aline the lifts preliminarily to the application of pressure and insertion of the nail. It will thus be apparent that the operation of opening and closingthe heel form is automatically accomplished as an incident to'the. necessary swinging of the arm 14 to start and stop the machine. 7

Referring now to Figure 1, 44 indicates an elongated support constructed and arranged to accommodate a series of lifts sufficient for a heel and disposed in orderly arrangement, such, for example, as the straight row shown in Fig. 2. The left-hand end of the support 44 may be secured to the die block support 18, as by the bolt 46, while the opposite end of the support is sustained by a leg 48, the upper surface of the support 44 is elevated above the bottom of the heel pile receiver, consisting of the support 18 and the heel forming aws 20, 22, by a distance equal at least to the height of a heel. The purpose of this feature will become apparent as the description of the lift collecting mechanism proceeds. I I y Arranged above the lift support 44 is an actuator-50 carrying a series of depending fingers 52 equal in number to the number of lifts to be assembled. T he lower portions of the fingers 52 are inclined rearwardly relatively to the direction of the operative stroke of the actuator, as shown at 54, and the lower ends of the fingers are formed, as illustrated at 56 (see Fig. 8) to enter and be guided in a groove 58 in the upper face of the lift support 44. In addition to their lift collecting function, the fingers 52 serve to support and guide the actuator 50 in its reciprocatory movement.

The means for operating the actuator 50, as herein shown, is manual. A handle 60 is secured to one end of a cord or chain 62 which passes over an idle guide pulley 64 carried by a bracket 66 mounted upon a stationary upright support 68. The upper end of the support 68 is bent over and has at its extremity a bearing 70in which is mounted a rocker shaft 72. A rocker arm 74is mounted in the front end of the shaft 7 2, and a torsion spring 76 surrounding the" position illustrated in Fig. 1 until the han dle 60 is pulled, whereupon 1t will be caused to sweeptoward the left. The movement of the rocker arm is communicated to the actuator 50 by a connecting rod 78 connected at its ends respectively-to the outer extremity of the arm 74 and to the actuator. An extension 80 is provided at the left of the heel form to support and guide the actuator as it is moved toward the left across theform.

A paste container 82,having mounted in it a rotatable paste roll 84, is supported beneath the lift support 44 in a position to bring the top of the paste-roll. substantially flush with the lift supporting surface of the support.

Immediately at the rear of the lift support 44, and parallel thereto, is a series of lift containing magazines. Each of these magazines comprises a bracket 86 carrying guides 88 for the breast corners of the lifts and a bracket 90 carrying a trough shaped guide 92 for the rounded ends of the lifts. The brackets 86 are bolted to a bar 94 ex- .tending above the inner edge of the lift The end It will of various thicknesses. One of these fingers is shown in Fig. 1, the remainder .of them being omitted to avoid confusion. 1

For the purpose of producing a series of lifts from magazines a pusher element is provided comprising a beam 100 carrying a series of pushers102, one for each magazine. The beam 100 is mounted to slide upon cylindrical guide rods 104 extending rearwardly from the lift support andis connected by a link 106 to a bell crank element 108 mounted to swing about a stationary pivot 110. The bell crank lever 108 is operatedgby a crank 112mounted on the end of the driving shaft 36 which constitutes act to press the lifts down-uponthe paste roll'84 as they pass over it applying a'uniward movement of the swinging arm 14, the 7 its under side.

Referring now to Fig. 4, means is pro vided for dislodging from the heel form a heel whichmay have become stuck. A plunger120'is arranged to reciprocate vertically througha central aperture in the nailing die between the drivers 122. A lever 124, mounted upon a stationary pivot 126, is notched at its forward end to engage pin 128 in the lower end of the plunger 120. The rear end of the lever 124 is peculiarly shaped to co-operate with a pin 130 which is rigidly mounted in the swinging arm 14. A pawl 132 is pivoted at 134 in the rear end of the lever 124 and is yielding-1y held in engagement with a stop 136 by a spring pressed plunger 138, the pawl thus being permitted to yield forwardly, but not rearwardly, relatively to the lever. When the arm 140 is swung rearwardly from the position shown in full lines to that shown in dotted lines in Fig. 4, the pin 130 assumes successively the positions shown by the small dotted circles 131. In this rearward movement the pin engages the pawl 132, depressing the rear end of the lever 134 and raising the plunger 120, separating the heel from the form to permit it to be easily removed. Before reaching the limit of its rearward movement the pin 130 passes the end of the pawl 132 and engages a cam surface 140 formed upon the lever 124, causing the lever to be rocked positively in the opposite direction to retract the plunger 120 so the latter shall not interfere with the introduction into the form of the lifts for the next heel, pile. During the next forpin 130 engages the rear face of the pawl and, the latter yielding, theplunger 120 is not moved.

The operation of the mechanism above described in specific detail is'as follows:

Assuming a series of lifts forming a heel pile 21 to have been deposited in the form 20 22, and the heel building machine being at rest with the arm, 14 and presser foot 16 in the position shownin dotted lines in Fig. 4, the handle 11 (see Fig. 1) is seized by the operator and the head 10 drawn forwardlyinto the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4. This action on the part of the operator starts the driving shaft 36 and causes it to rotate through a single revolution, as described in detail in the Tripp patent, No. 1,056,? 20, previously referred to. During the forward, swinging movement of the arm 14, the form is closed upon the heel, by engagement of the arm with the cress bar 38, alining the lifts laterally. Duringthe power operation of the machine, the presser foot 16 is lowered, pressing the lifts in the form. firmly together, and anail or nails is or are driven through the pile of lifts, by the drivers 122, to secure them to-' gether. As the arm 14 is allowed to dropback the ejector plunger 120 is elevated to loosen the heel from the form, lifting it approximately to the dotted line-position shown in Fig. 4. The plunger is finally positively retracted to insure that it"shall not interfere'with the introduction of the next series of lifts into the form.

During the rotation of the shaft 36, the pusher element, consisting of the beam 100 and the pushers 102, is operated to produce a fresh series of lifts, suflicient to form the next heel pile, from the magazines and to deposit them in a row upon the lift support 44, the individual lifts being deposited be tween the fingers 52, as shown clearly in Fig. 1. The operator now seizes the handle 60 and pulls it downwardly, causing, by a single movement of the hand, the actuator 50 to move across the heel form. In this movement of the actuator, the fingers 52 advance the individual lifts simultaneously along the support 44, all the lifts except the. first one passing in rapid succession over the paste roll 84 and being pasted upontheir lower sides. As the lifts arrive successively at the end of the support 44, they drop therefrom, pile up on the receiver, consisting of the nailing die 12 and its support 18, and in the heel form, one upon another in the shape of a heel pile. The handle 60 is then released, the actuator being returned to its initial position by the torsion spring 7 6. The parts are now in their initial position with another heel. pile in the form ready to be acted upon by the heel building machine, as already described.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is 2' 1. In a heel making machine, the. combination of a series of lift magazines, a support adjacent to the magazines, means for removing a series of lifts from themagazines, and eepositing them upon the supportin spaced relation, means for receiving a heel pile, and means for advancing said series of lifts along the support in spaced relation and delivering them one upon another to said receiving means.

2. Tu a heel making machine, the combination of a series of lift'magazines, a. support adjacent to the magazines, means for removing from the magazines lifts sufthe support in a series parallel to the magazines, a receiver below the plane of the support, and means for advancing the series of lifts along the support and drop- .ficient for a 'heel and depositing them upon 1 ping them one upon another on said receiver, in the form of a heel pile.

3'. In a heel making machine, the combination of means for supporting a row of lifts, a horizontally stationary receiver at a different elevation from the supporting means, and means for delivering said row of lifts one by one to the receiver to form a heel pile. 1

4. In a heel making machine, the combination of means for supporting a row of lifts in substantially the sameplane, a re ceiver below the plane of the lift supporting means, and means for advancing the row of lifts simultaneously along the support and dropping them one upon another on the receiver to form a heel pile.

5. In a heel making machine, the combination of a support for a row of heel lifts, a heel pile receiver below the level of .7 'saidsupport, and means for advancing the row of lifts simultaneouslyand causing them to drop off the support upon the re ceiver in succession.

6. In a heel making machine, the com-i bination of means for supporting a row of lifts in substantially the same plane, a .heel pile receiver at the end of the row, and

along said plane in the direction of the row and depositing them in a pile upon the receiver.

7. In a heel making machine, the combination of means for supporting aseries of lifts in substantially the same plane, means for depositing upon said supporting means a series of lifts sufficient for a single heel, a heel pile receiver adjacent to said supporting means, and means for advancmg said series of llfts simultaneously along the support in front of themagazines, and

the support and depositing them successively upon said receiver. I 1

8. In a heel making machine, the combination of means for supporting in sub-. stantially the same plane a series of lifts] sufficient for a single heel, a heel pile receiver adjacent to the supporting means,

in a single movement to advancethe lifts along the plane of the support and collect. .them into a heel pile. I

10. In a heel making machine, a lift advancing and collecting device comprising a support for a dispersed series of lifts. a g movable actuator above the support,-and a series of spaced apart lift engaging fingers depending from the actuator.

11 In a heel making machine, a lift adfingers.

vancing and collecting device comprising a movable actuator havlng a serles of Similarly inclined, spaced apart lift engaging 12. In a heel'making machine, a liftadvancing and collecting dev1ce comprlsing a reclprocatory actuator-having a series of inv clined lift engaging' fingers equal to the number of lifts to be collectedand spaced apart? y distances at least equalto the width @Of a lift.

13. In a heel making ,machine, the comblnation of. a means for supporting a series of lifts suflicient'fora heel,-a lift advancing and collecting device having :a series of fingers constructed and arrangedto enter hetween'andengage the individual lifts of 'theseries,- and means for imparting to said dev ce a con-tlnuousmovement sufficient in extent to. advancev all the lifts; slmultaneously, deliver them at a pointinadvance of the original position, of the first liftof the series, and collect them in a single pile. 14. In aheel fmakifngmachine, the combination of a series of lift magazines, a lift supportv in front of the magazines, a lift collecting device having a series of "depend- I 1 ing fingers, located above the sup-port, means means for advancmg the lifts serially for pushing out a series oflifts from the andwmeans for moving the collecting device to collect the lifts into a heelpile.

15. Inaheel making machine, the com- .bination' of a series of lift magazines, an

extended lift support in front of the magazines, means for removing from the magazines and depositingupon the lift support a-seriesof lifts suflicient, for a jheel a. receiver adjacent to and below the end of the support, lift collecting means movable along means for imparting to said liftcollecting means a continuous movementsufficient to 7 advance all the lifts of the series beyond the end of the support and drop them upon the,

receiver in a 1le.

16. The com ination, with a heel building machine having means to secure together a pile of heel lifts, of means for supporting the lifts in dispersed relation in a single plane, .and manually operable means for enabling'the operator, by asingle motion of the hand, to collect the series of-lifts. and deposit them in said machine, in position to be secured together. r a V 17. The combination, with a heel building machine having means to secure. together a pile of heel lifts, of meansiadjacentto, said machine for supporting in dispersed relation a series of lifts sufficient for a heel, and manually operable means for advancing the lifts along the support in spaced relation and deliveringv them successively to said machine in position to befsecured together. p

dispersed relation,

'18. The combination, with a heel building 'machine :having means to secure together a pile of heel lifts, of means adjacent to said machine for supporting in dispersed relation a series of lifts sufficient for a heel, and means for advancing the lifts along the support and delivering them successively to said machine in position to be secured together.

19. The combination, with a heelbuilding machine having a lift receiving form, of means for supporting a series of lifts in and means, movable across'the form, for engaging the lifts, advancing them to the form and "depositing them therein.

20. -The combination, with a heel building machine having a liftreceiving form, of

- a lift su-pport,meansfor-depositing a series of lifts upon the support in dispersed relation andmeans operated byasingle motion of the hand, for depositing said lifts in a pile in the form.

21. Ina heel making machine, :the combination of a lift receiving form, an extended lift support adjacent to and higher than the form, anactuator -movable-above the support and across-theform, a series of fingers'on the actuator constructedand arranged to enter between and engage the individual lifts-of a'series upon thesupport,

*securing means, for producing from said magazines arow of lifts sufiicientjfor the next heel.

24:. The combination, witha heel building --machine having means "forseeuring together the lifts of a heel, of a series of lift maga zines, and a pusher'element, operated-by said securing means, to produce from the magazines a row of lifts sufficient for the next heel.

'25. In a heel making -machine, the combination of stationary means for supporting in a row aseries of-lifts suflicient to-form a heel pile, a pasting device at one end of "the row and in alinement therewith, and

means 'for'advancing therow, of lifts serially past the pasting device to apply paste to the lifts in succession. Y

26. In a heel making machine, thecombination of means for supporting in a row in a single plane a series of lifts sufficient to form a heel pile, and means, acting in a single movement, to apply paste to the lifts and assemble them in a heel pile.

27. In a heel making machine, the combination of means for supporting in a row ceiver in alinement with the row beyond the pasting means, and means for advancing the row of lifts serially past the p-asting means and depositing them upon the receiver in a heel pile.

29. In a heel. makingmachine, the combination of a row of lift magazines, a lift support in front of the magazines, means for pushing out from the magazines and depositing upon the support a series of lifts sufficient to forma heel pile, a paste roll at one end of the row of lifts, a heel form beyond'the paste roll, a collecting device, and means for operating the collecting device to advance a row of lifts, deposited upon the support, serially over the paste roll and deposit them serially, one upon another, in the form.

30. In a heel making machine, lift advancing or feeding mechanism comprising a stationary lift support, and a movable actuator having a lift engaging finger inclined-r05 downwardly and rearwardly relatively to the direction of its operativemovement and constructed and arranged to press a lift downwardly upon the support as it advances the lift along the supper I 31. In a heel making machine, lift advancingor feeding mechanism comprising a lift support, and a movable actuator having a finger constructed and arranged to engage the rear edge of a lift, said finger being in-i 115 clined relatively to the'lift support in a direction to cause a lift to be pressed dcwnwardly as it'is advanced alongthe support by said finger.

' 32. In a heel making machine, lift advanc- 120 ing or feeding mechanism comprising a lift support, and a movable actuator above said support having a depending finger constructed and arranged to engage'the rear edgeof a lift, said finger being inclined '125 downwardly and rearwardly relatively to the direction of operative movement of the actuator.

33. In a heel building machine, the combination of a'heel form. means for applyinglBO pressure to a heel pile in the form, an ejector for loosening a heel from the form, and means controlled by the pressure applying means for actuatingthe ejector to loosen the heel and then positively retracting the ejector before the heel is removed from the form.

34:. In a heel building machine, the combination of a heel form, means for applying pressure to a heel pile in the form, a plunger acting through the bottom of the form to loosen a heel after the pressure is released, v

and means controlled by the pressure applying means for actuating the plunger to loosen the heel and for then positively retracting the plunger to inoperative position before the heel is remove-d from the form.

In a heelbuilding machine, the combination of a heel form, means for applying pressure to a heel pile in the form, an ejector plunger reciprocable through the bottom of the form and normally flush therewith, and means operated by the pressure applying means for positively raising the plunger to loosen a heel from the form and immediately thereafter positively lowering the plunger to its initial position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

RALPH C'. SIMMONS. 

